William Ralph Dutcher, FAIA
July 2, 1935 – January 17, 2026
Bill died the morning of January 17th, after a long decline. He got his wish, to remain in his beautiful home until the last day of his life, surrounded by his family, the art work and artifacts he loved. We are bereft but also grateful for his long illustrious life, and that he is no longer suffering.
Bill was born in Oakland, near Piedmont Ave, to Ralph Milton Dutcher and Isla Libby Smith Dutcher. He went to Piedmont Avenue Elementary School, Westlake Jr High, and Oakland Tech, where he met the love of his life, Nancy Palmer, at the ‘Hello Day Dance’. They went on to Cal together where he disobeyed his parents to major in architecture instead of engineering. He and Nancy married two weeks after graduation. They saved up their money and a few years later spent a year traveling through Europe, wintering in Sweden, where Bill worked for an architectural firm while Nancy went to weaving school.
On their return they lived in Montclair, soon to have great luck at being given a gorgeous 1908 brown shingle craftsman house in Rockridge – IF they could find a lot nearby and move it off the property. This became their lifelong project, working on this house, which was the heart of their family.
Bill worked for architectural firms MBT & Associates in San Francisco until he joined a tiny firm in Berkeley- Dutcher, George & Hanf, where he worked out of the former Golden Sheaf Bakery on Milvia St, a beautiful old brick building. Over the course of his career, he designed many local buildings: a Christian Science reading room, St. Joseph of Arimathea chapel in Berkeley, Curds & Whey Cheese Shop and Yasai Market, worked on CPS High School and many home remodels as well as several entire houses after the Oakland Hills fire. He was given several architectural awards for his work, and became a Fellow of the AIA in 1992.
 He and Nancy had great adventures traveling to Hawaii, Costa Rica, the Galapagos, Mexico, England and of course his beloved Italy many times, as well as the family cabin up in the Sierras at Cow Creek. Their home is full of art and artifacts gathered from these travels.
Bill was as stubborn as they come, with a clear vision of how to live a good life. He was a true artist with a very high level of perfectionism. An introvert, his quiet charisma, innate curiosity about the world and sense of humor charmed us all. He didn’t believe in God, aliens or astrology but he was a Cancer through and through. He was loyal, devoted, creative and protective of those close to his heart. He loved all things Italian, his design idol Carlo Scarpa, his mentee John North, The Warriors, the 49ers, golden retrievers (especially his favorite Oski), Rachel Maddow, THREE kinds of jam on the table at breakfast every morning, reading the entire SF Chronicle every day (as well as the NY Times and Il Figaro in Italian), making pancakes on Sunday mornings, mayonnaise on a surprising variety of foods and a cold glass of Prosecco. A delicious dinner with flowing wine and good conversation was one of his life’s delights. He spent many days building furniture in his basement workshop, reading or watching sports. In his later years, politics became his main form of entertainment, which he discussed at great length, driving us all nuts!
Bill is survived by his beloved wife Nancy Dutcher, daughters Kieren Dutcher(son in law Gregory Sage), and Greta Dutcher(son in law Pete Rypins), grandchildren Sophie Worm and William Worm and former son in law Daniel Worm. Donations in his name can be made to Act Blue (Bill was a monthly donor for years), the Sierra Club or the SPCA.
If you really want to celebrate Bill, take your favorite people out to a (preferably Italian) restaurant and drink a toast to his grand, long life! Cin cin!
A private family memorial will be held at a later date.
